Page 44 of Rear View
What the fuck happened to you, darlin’?
Chapter Eleven
Ryah
“So, theydohave a death wish,” I said, my stomach tightening when Xavier stood, one knee on the snowmobile’s seat, while he whipped up the side of the hill. When he hit the top, he launched off the peak, going airborne. My breath lodged in my throat as he soared at least fifteen feet high. He twisted his torso, and the machine followed, arcing until it landed with ease, skis down, on the snow.
Sheila snickered. “Girl, wait until you see them drive.”
My eyes went wide. “Is it that bad?”
“When your man’s in that car, it is.” Her gaze drifted to Alec as he launched off the hillside next. “X had a rough life. Like,reallyrough. This stuff is his outlet.”
“Rough?” I asked.
She gave an exaggerated nod. “His father was the worst kind of asshole.”
My heart twisted. I didn’t know Xavier well, but I unequivocally knew he deserved better. I wanted to ask, yet it felt…intrusive. Besides, I wanted to hear his story from him, if he was willing to tell it. My face heated as I pressed my boot into the snow. “Does he date much?”
A small smile stole across her lips. “He was withPenny for a while until he ended it last year.” She adjusted her headband, tugging it over her ears. “X hasn’t said much, but I think he realized she was just hitching herself to his success.”
To his success, not tohim. Ouch! That had to hurt. To be with someone, commit yourself, then learn everything was a lie. My mouth tugged into a frown.
“Rally’s life for them.” Sheila’s voice fell flat. “And they’re climbing fast.”
My gaze narrowed on the slump of her shoulders and the dimming of her eyes. “You don’t seem excited about that?”
She sighed. “Is it that obvious?”
Very.I shrugged.
Miles and Alec whooped while Xavier raced Yara and Kamala down the hill. He stood, feet on the left running board, then hit the gas, drifting the machine around before he rocketed back to the top again. God, it was sexy and terrifying, which somehow made it sexier.
“It’s scary.” Sheila raised her hands. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for Alec. Forbothof them. They’ve worked so hard to get where they are, but I’m terrified of what that could mean.”
“For whom?”
Her body sagged. “Is it awful if I say me?”
I shook my head and tapped the stunning solitaire engagement ring that circled her finger. “This affects you just as much as him. You’re in this together.”
She nodded weakly. “I just”—another heavy sigh—“I’m afraid he’ll go to these amazing places and meet all these big new people and I’ll get left behind.” She dropped her head in her hands. “It feels so selfish, but I can’t help it.”
The weight of that hit like a brick. Xavier was there, but how long would it take before his career steered him away? I stared at my feet. Maybe that was for the best. It wasn’t like I was free anyway, not really. I cleared my throat, working hard to ignore how much that idea hurt. “You and I barely know each other, so take this as you will, but if the way Alec looks at you means anything, you have nothing to worry about.”
I glanced at Xavier. He flipped up his black-tinted visor and his gaze collided with mine. He grinned, said something to the others, then whipped his snowmobile around, the engine making a loudzztas the track spun and sent snow flying. It coated the air and tree bows behind him before he made a beeline straight to where I waited. My stomach fluttered as he pulled close. So close that his leg brushed mine. He was so tall that we were still at eye level, even with him seated.
Alec chased after him and stuck his arm out, grabbing Sheila and dragging her onto his lap as she shrieked before he zoomed away.
Xavier killed the engine, then pushed back, making space before he slapped the seat in front of him. “Hop on.”
I sat, my limbs tingling when my outer thigh grazed his knee.
“Tell me something.”
Miles watched from the hill wearing a relaxed smile that he’d not had around me since before my baggage had dropped in our laps. He gave me a quick thumbs-up, then looked away.
Folding my palms in my lap, I turned and faced Xavier. “What do you want to know?”
